Springfield School Board approves contract for new superintendent

The Springfield School District will be paying about $80,000 less in salary and benefits per year to Jennifer Gill than it did to former superintendent Walter Milton under a contract approved Tuesday.

By Jason NevelStaff Writer

The Springfield School District will be paying about $80,000 less in salary and benefits per year to Jennifer Gill than it did to former superintendent Walter Milton under a contract approved Tuesday.

The Springfield School Board unanimously OK’d hiring Gill to take over as the next superintendent beginning May 1.

The employment agreement with Gill will pay her an annual salary of $195,000. Milton, who resigned from the school district March 31, earned a salary of $220,000 per year.

The district will also be doling out far less in benefits to Gill.

She turned down health-care and dental coverage that previously cost the district about $22,300 per year, as well as an additional contribution to a retirement fund that paid Milton another $26,025 annually.

Gill’s life insurance coverage will be the same as all district employees at $42 per year as compared to Milton, who received $1,042 per year. Vehicle and mileage expenses would be about $5,000 less per year, according to the contract agreement.

Gill said Tuesday, even though she won’t officially start until May 1, she is already getting herself acquainted with the issues.

Interim Superintendent Bob Hill told the board Tuesday that the district is facing a $4.7 million shortfall for the 2014-15 school year if nothing is done to cut expenses.

However, board members did note they’ve already begun chipping away at that total.

In December, the board voted to eliminate a teacher collaboration period at the high schools that will result in an estimated $1.5 million in savings.

In addition, board members say they do not plan to fully extend the district’s lease with Apple, which will free up another $1.4 million.

After that, board member Scott McFarland said the district would be looking at another $1.8 million more in cuts. However, he emphasized that amount could climb based on what happens during contract negotiations with teachers and if state funding drops even more than it has.